Introduction:

The National Curriculum Guidelines (DCN) for undergraduate medical training establish that courses should be centered on the student as a subject of learning and use methodologies geared toward student participation in the construction of knowledge. The aim of this study was to understand how medical students view the use of problematization methodology in the Competence Integrating Problem (PIC) unit at the Pontifical Catholic University of Goiás (PUC Goiás).

Method:

This cross-sectional, descriptive study adopts a qualitative approach. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews based on a list of topics prepared in advance. Interviews were conducted with thirty academics from the first to the twelfth modules of the PIC unit, the methodology of which course is based on problematization combined with the incorporation of the Charles Maguerez Arch. Grounded Theory was used for the data analysis.

Results:

The results from the interview transcription and analysis, three explanatory categories were created for the investigated phenomenon, namely: Positive, negative and improvement points; PIC student and teacher characteristics; PIC contributions to medical training. Analysis of the explanatory categories demonstrated functional and applicable contributions made by and efficiency of problematization methodology in the PIC unit, such as communication skills, research, problem solving, proactivity, learning to work in a team and to listen and respect the opinions of colleagues, critical thinking, and a holistic understanding of the patient, for the purposes of medical training. Drawing on the views of the medical students, problematization methodology used in the field of medical education was shown to still have weaknesses both in terms of the student’s training and the performance of the mediating teacher.

Conclusions:

The results of this study may be used to ensure that medical courses that use this methodology adopt strategies aimed at its correct applicability.

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